Research Scientist * Two Streams

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

Intent of the process

The immediate intent of this process is to staff 1 Indeterminate position with an English Essential profile.

A pool of qualified or partially assessed candidates may be established and may be used to staff similar positions at these groups and levels with various conditions of employment, various language requirements (english essential, BBB/BBB and CBC/CBC) as well as various security and tenures across Health Canada and on behalf of other federal government organizations. As a result of the potential and possible use of the selection process and subsequent pool by hiring managers, we encourage all employees seeking this type of position/work stream and/or group and level to apply.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 9,999 words (maximum) "Persons interested must submit, by the closing date, a complete application consisting of a covering letter AND a résumé supporting the information provided in the cover letter. Candidates must clearly demonstrate WHICH STREAMS THEY ARE APPLYING FOR IN THEIR COVER LETTER and how they meet the ESSENTIAL EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE criteria as well as ASSETS IF APPLICABLE. A recommended approach is to use the education and experience factors as headings in your cover letter. Under each heading you must write no more than two paragraphs that state exactly how you meet the education and experience factors. You must state clearly where and when you obtained the education and experiences, including the educational institution, and by identifying the employer(s) or organization(s) where you obtained the required experience factors, as well as concrete examples demonstrating your experiences. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your application being rejected."

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

Education:

Graduation with an acceptable doctoral degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in a field of natural sciences related to the duties of the position such as: toxicology, immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology.

Productivity or recognition is required for all positions in the Research Scientist sub-group (SE-RES) (Revised October 1, 1999). Productivity or recognition includes developmental work leading to the issue of patents, copyrights, or the creation of improved varieties, functions, or designs, and/or recognition by the professional community of the research environment. It also refers to recognized achievement in the form of authorship and editorship of published or unpublished reports, books, papers, or other communications resulting from:

•Research, experimental development, or tasking associated with operational equipment and problems;
•Operational research and scientific analysis;
•Planning, analysis and evaluation of Canadian and foreign programs in research and development.

Degree equivalency

Common Experience

EEx1. Experience in planning and conducting laboratory research studies on the adverse effects of foods, food components, or chemical contaminants that may be present in foods.

EEx2. Experience in presentation of data and authoring scientific publications resulting from research in mammalian toxicology or a related field relevant to the position.

EEx3. Experience in conducting research studies with laboratory rodents or cultured mammalian cells.

Stream 1 Experience:
EEx4. Experience in conducting rodent studies or in vitro studies in a laboratory environment, with a specific focus on food allergy, or food hypersensitivity, or immune responses to food.

and / or

Stream 2 Experience:
EEx4. Experience in conducting rodent studies or in vitro studies in a laboratory environment, with a specific focus on food toxicology or adverse responses to chemicals that may occur in foods.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

English essential

Information on language requirements

Common Knowledge:

EK1. Knowledge of modern biological, biochemical and molecular biology techniques for assessing adverse responses to food contaminants or food constituents.

EK2. Knowledge of the sources and types of xenobiotic chemical contaminants and endogenous constituents that may cause adverse health effects if consumed in food.

EK3. Knowledge of laboratory biosafety and chemical safety practices and systems.

Stream 1 Knowledge:
EK4. Knowledge of immunology as it relates to biological responses to food allergens and food constituents.

Stream 2 Knowledge:
EK4. Knowledge of toxicology as it relates to food contaminants and food constituents.

Abilities:

A1. Ability to plan, manage and execute research programs in accordance with international test guidelines for chemical safety testing.
A2. Ability to effectively communicate scientific ideas and data, to colleagues and superiors, in oral form.
A3. Ability to effectively participate in inter-disciplinary teams.
A4. Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
A5. Ability to train laboratory personnel and lead project teams.
A6. Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

Personal Suitabilities:

PS1. Effective interpersonal relationships.
PS2. Leadership.
PS3. Judgement.
PS4. Dependability.
PS5. Thoroughness.
PS6. Respectful of diversity.

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

Common Asset Experience:
1 year or more postdoctoral experience in an area of work relevant to Stream 1 or Stream 2.

Stream 1 Asset Experience:
AEx1 Experience in applying in silico bioinformatics models for the study of food allergenicity and hypersensitivity.

Stream 2 Asset Experience:
AEx1 Experience in dose-response modelling and statistical analyses relevant to toxicology data for use in regulatory toxicology.

Stream 1 Asset Knowledge:
AK1 Knowledge of the physicochemical properties of food allergens as related to their detection and characterization.

Stream 2 Asset Knowledge:
AK1 Knowledge of the principles of risk assessment as it pertains to regulating the safety of chemicals in food and the environment.

OPERATIONAL NEEDS

Willingness and ability to work outside normal working hours.
Willingness and ability to work with laboratory animals.
Willingness and ability to work with toxins and chemicals.
Willingness and ability to safely work with biological samples from animals and humans such as bodily fluids and tissues.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

A valid Pre-Placement (Category 3) health evaluation in accordance with the Occupational Health Evaluation Standard (https://gcconnex.gc.ca/file/download/67968725) and undertake a periodic health evaluation.
https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12561

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

Candidates must meet the Essential Qualifications to be appointed to the position. Candidates may be expected to meet, in whole or in part, the criteria related to the Assets, Operational Requirements and Organizational Needs, depending on the position being staffed.

Candidates must provide their proof of education credentials, in the form of a diploma or official transcripts (original documents only) at a later time in the process. Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/

Candidates will not be solicited for incomplete or possibly missing information.

Please note that volume management strategies, such as random selection, top-down approach, invoking any asset(s) and/or cut-off scores, MAY be used at any point in the staffing process for the purpose of managing volumes of applications/candidates.

For this process, emails are the most efficient way to communicate with you. Candidates who apply to this selection process must include an email address that accepts email from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). If you do not wish to receive results by email or if you change your email address during the process, it is your responsibility to inform us.

If you require technical support to apply for this position, please contact jobs.gc.ca at: http://emplois-jobs.gc.ca/centres/contact-contactez/index-eng.php

Please note that candidates are responsible for submitting their application by the closing date in order to be considered. No applications will be accepted once the deadline has passed.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The PSRS system will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity which may result in your inability to save your work or loss of data. It is recommended that you draft ALL RESPONSES in another document on your PC which may be saved (e.g. in MS Word or WordPerfect) and copy/paste into the PSRS system when completed. HEALTH CANADA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SYSTEM PROBLEMS WHICH MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF DATA AND/OR INCOMPLETE OR NON SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE THROUGH THE PSRS SYSTEM. Do not e-mail, fax, or mail in hard copy documents.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

We thank all those who apply.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.